Enhanced Photocatalytic Degradation of Water Pollutants Using Au/CdS: TiO₂ Films Nanocomposites under Ultra Violet-Visible Irradiation

Authors

Zainab K. Mohammed, Department of Physics, College of Science for Women, University of Baghdad, Baghdad, IraqFollow
Souad G. Khalil, Department of Physics, College of Science for Women, University of Baghdad, Baghdad, IraqFollow
Mahdi M. Mutter, Scientific Research Commission, Baghdad, IraqFollow

Abstract

In this work, Au/ CdS: TiO₂ film nanocomposites were prepared and deposited on a glass substrate for photocatalytic application. First, sol-gel dip coating thin films of CdS: TiO₂ were synthesized. Next, the plasma sputtering technique was used to deposit Au on the CdS: TiO₂ thin films. Composite CdS: TiO₂ ratios were (1:1, 1:0.25, and 1:0.5). The produced films were studied using X-ray diffraction (XRD) measurements, atomic force microscopy (AFM), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), and UV-visible spectroscopy. With the addition of TiO₂, the energy band gap, as measured by UV-visible spectroscopy, decreased from 3.82 eV for pure Au:CdS to 3.76 eV with increasing TiO₂. To evaluate the photocatalytic activity of pure Au/CdS and modified Au/CdS:TiO₂ thin films, methylene red (MR) aqueous solution degradation was used. The outcomes showed that after just 50 minutes, Au/CdS (1): TiO₂(1) had an effective photocatalytic activity of up to 57.95%.

Keywords

CdS, TiO2 films, Dipping technique, Nanocomposite, Photocatalysis, Sol-Gel method

Subject Area

Physics

Article Type

Article

First Page

18040

Last Page

18050

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

How to Cite this Article

Mohammed, Zainab K.; Khalil, Souad G.; and Mutter, Mahdi M. (2025) "Enhanced Photocatalytic Degradation of Water Pollutants Using Au/CdS: TiO₂ Films Nanocomposites under Ultra Violet-Visible Irradiation," Baghdad Science Journal: Vol. 22: Iss. 11, Article 17.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.21123/2411-7986.5119